CoTU Slams COCOMI’s Anti-Tribal Agenda, Exposes Militant Ties in Fierce Rebuttal

In a scathing response to COCOMI’s latest statement, the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) has fiercely condemned what it calls an “ethno-fascist narrative” aimed at marginalizing the Kuki-Zo tribal community. The statement, issued following the Kuki-Zo Public Resolution adopted on the 22nd Remembrance Day Observance at the Martyr Cemetery in Phaijang on March 3, 2025, has been denounced as yet another calculated assault on the rights and dignity of the Kuki-Zo people.

CoTU asserts that organizations like COCOMI are at the forefront of a systematic campaign of hatred, working in tandem with militant groups to push a hegemonic and genocidal agenda against the Kuki-Zo community since May 3, 2023. The organization accuses COCOMI of operating as the political mouthpiece for extremist militias, spreading divisive rhetoric while orchestrating violence and oppression.

According to CoTU, COCOMI’s appeals to the Union Government mirror the demands of their armed affiliates, particularly the Arambai Tenggol. These representations, CoTU argues, do not reflect the genuine sentiments of the valley’s civilians but rather serve the vested interests of militant factions determined to dominate and subjugate minorities.

CoTU further highlights how the people of the valley rejected the fascist ideology championed by these groups during the 2024 Parliamentary Election, despite aggressive mobilization by the Arambai Tenggol under former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who allegedly styled himself as a “General.” The organization also recalls the chilling incident of January 24, 2024, when all elected valley representatives, including a sitting Member of Parliament, were reportedly forced to pledge allegiance to the Arambai Tenggol and commit to a set of demands later submitted by COCOMI to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Union Government of India.

Blasting COCOMI’s “shameless double standards,” CoTU questions how an organization representing armed militias can simultaneously claim to be the voice of the valley’s civilians—especially when those same civilians had already rejected their ideology at the ballot box. The organization calls out COCOMI for masquerading as a legitimate body while openly declaring hostility against the Kuki-Zo people.

Reaffirming its commitment to the tribal cause, CoTU underscores that it was formed after May 3, 2023, to safeguard the political aspirations and rights of the Kuki-Zo people, who have endured generations of oppression under what they describe as “Meitei supremacist forces.” In stark contrast, CoTU asserts that organizations like COCOMI, Meitei Leepun, Arambai Tenggol, and Meira Paibis have long been rooted in fascism, promoting a history of domination over minority communities.

Issuing a firm warning, CoTU calls on these valley-based groups to focus on their own aspirations rather than attempting to suppress the legitimate demands of the Kuki-Zo people—who remain committed to seeking their future within the constitutional framework of the Republic of India. The nation, CoTU insists, must recognize the stark difference between the two warring communities: the Kuki-Zo people, who seek justice and freedom within India, and the Meitei-led factions, who have allegedly pursued a separatist agenda against the Indian Union.